Archive · 8 Aug 2026
Trump Calls White House Ballroom Ruling 'National Security Threat'
The President of the United States, Donald Trump, wants to build a big new ballroom at the White House, the place where the president lives and works.
A ballroom is a big room where people dance and hold fancy parties.
He also wants to add a military complex with a drone landing pad on the roof.
Some judges said he cannot build it without asking Congress first.
Congress is the group of people elected to make laws for the country.
The judges said each president is just a temporary tenant, so the White House is not any one president's to change.
President Trump was upset and called the decision a 'National Security Threat' and a 'National disgrace.'
He said presidents have the right to fix, renovate, secure, protect, and beautify the White House grounds.
The judges are giving the president two more weeks before their decision takes effect.
Now President Trump is asking the highest court in the country, the Supreme Court, to overturn the decision.
A divided US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled 2-1 that the White House ballroom project cannot proceed without congressional approval.
President Trump called the ruling a 'National Security Threat' and a 'National disgrace' in a Friday post on Truth Social.
Trump said his administration will immediately appeal to the US Supreme Court and asked it to overturn the decision 'in its entirety.'
The project is a 'SECURE Ballroom/Military Complex,' including a 90,000-square-foot ballroom on the demolished East Wing's site and a major DronePort on the roof.
The court stayed its ruling for two weeks; Judges Patricia Millett and Brad Garcia formed the majority while Judge Neomi Rao dissented, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation praised the decision.
- Who
- US President Donald Trump and the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which sued over the project; Judges Patricia Millett and Brad Garcia (majority) and Judge Neomi Rao (dissenting) of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit; the US Supreme Court is the target of the appeal.
- What
- A federal appeals court ruled 2-1 that the White House ballroom project cannot proceed without congressional approval; Trump called the ruling a 'National Security Threat' and is appealing to the Supreme Court.
- When
- Friday (local time) - the date of the ruling and of Trump's Truth Social post; the court stayed its ruling for two weeks to allow time for an appeal.
- Where
- Washington, District of Columbia - involving the White House and the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
- Why
- The court said Congress, not the Executive Branch, must decide whether the massive ballroom should be constructed; Trump argues presidents have the right to fix, renovate, secure, protect, and beautify the White House grounds.
Congress and the Appeals Court
Trump Administration
Congressional Approval
Congress and the Appeals Court
Congress must decide whether the massive ballroom should be built; the court said 'Whether or not a massive ballroom should be constructed is for Congress to decide and is not a matter for Executive self-help.'
Trump Administration
Trump argues presidents are not 'temporary tenants' but presidents elected by the people, with the right to fix, renovate, secure, protect, and beautify the White House grounds without congressional approval.
National Security
Congress and the Appeals Court
The court treated the project as a construction matter requiring legislative approval rather than an urgent security necessity.
Trump Administration
Trump calls the project a 'desperately needed SECURE Ballroom/Military Complex' and says the ruling blocking it is a 'National Security Threat at the highest level.'
- President
- Donald Trump
- Court
- US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
- Ruling
- 2-1 - congressional approval required for ballroom construction
- Project
- SECURE Ballroom/Military Complex with a rooftop DronePort
- Ballroom
- 90,000 sq ft (8,400 sq m) on the demolished East Wing site; capacity 999
- Plaintiff
- National Trust for Historic Preservation
- Appeal
- Planned to the US Supreme Court
- Stay
- Ruling stayed for two weeks
